Biology and Biotechnology
The mission is to widen the education and training of biotechnology at the University, to make it an attractive option for students to pursue a career in this developing and innovative field, while at the same time providing them with highly qualified skills in Biology. Graduates of this Program will be encouraged to become key players and leaders in in several fields using biotechnology, including medicine and pharmaceutical, biological sciences, food industry, agriculture, health and the environment.
The main goal of the Biology and Biotechnology Program is to form scientists who will have the ability to analyze and approach problems from a broader perspective. These skills will allow our graduates to work with new technologies, deliver innovative solutions, and be pioneers in the field. In particular, the program will form students that will develop both practical and theoretical skills to achieve the following goals:
A. Provide students with comprehensive knowledge and understanding of Biology together with an in-depth knowledge of state-of-the art biotechnology techniques and theory.
B. Equip students with understanding and knowledge of a wide range of topics in Biotechnology from programming for bioinformatics to genomics, proteomics, and bio nanotechnology.
C. Advance students’ ability to carry out scientific research and to be front-runners in the biotechnology field including providing them with the necessary foundations that will allow them to have easy access to post graduate programs both locally and abroad.
D. Develop students’ critical thinking skills and deliver innovative solutions to important problems in several fields.
Upon successful completion of the bachelor’s program in Biology and Biotechnology, our graduates will be trained with knowledge and skills that will allow them to work and be key player in several fields.
- A. Outcomes for Goal A, General knowledge: Students will have an in-depth and broad knowledge of both biology, biochemistry, and biotechnology. Our graduates will also gain knowledge in basic sciences such as chemistry and physics, and will have substantial programming skills,
A1. Explain biological phenomena and apply new biotechnology solutions to understand life, evolution, and make connections at the molecular, genetic, and system biology level.
A2. Demonstrate technical and professional proficiencies necessary to identify, describe, discover, investigate, and interpret biological phenomena and their intricacies.
- B. Outcomes for goal B, specific knowledge in biology and biotechnology: provide students with in depth knowledge of advanced new technology and computational skills.
B1. Understand and explain system biology and its related developing fields such as genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics.
B2. Demonstrate technical proficiency in using computational advanced languages such as Python to solve biological questions.
- C. Outcomes for goal C, Scientific research skills: develop students’ research and technical skills to become frontrunners in scientific research and innovation
C1. Identify biological problems, analyze relevant information and design experimental procedures to answer the issues.
C2. Work within interdisciplinary teams in order to obtain the necessary tools that are required to solve specific problems information, collect data and assess its relevance and reliability.
C3. Develop written and oral communication skills to efficiently and effectively convey new scientific knowledge.
- D. Outcomes for goal D, critical thinking skills: Develop students’ ability to assess information and understand its significance and importance. Advance students’ capacity to analyze scientific material, and ability to use multidisciplinary approaches to provide new perspectives. Support debate and discussion of scientific knowledge.
D1. Develop critical skills by analyzing, evaluating, and examining information.
D2. Develop the ability to discuss and debate in a scientific manner
D3. Encourage opportunities to test problem solving abilities
Graduates will be qualified to seek employment in many different fields and industry-related jobs. The following companies and agencies are potential employers of our graduates:
- Pharmaceutical companies
- Research Hospitals
- Ministry of Health
- Biotechnology Companies
- Environmental agencies and ministries for environmental monitoring, control, and remediation
- Food industry and food science
- Agriculture
- Energy production and energy storage
- Universities and Colleges
- Start-up own business
- Compete for specialized graduate programs worldwide in public and private universities
The bachelor’s degree in Biology and Biotechnology is awarded upon successful completion of a minimum of 122 credit hours that can normally be completed in four academic years (8 semesters) as follows:
Course type |
Number of credit hours |
Percentages |
|
20 |
16.4% |
|
18 |
14.8% |
|
75 |
61.5 % |
|
9 |
7.4% |
|
122 |
100% |
- University requirements (2 0credit hour)
Course code |
Course name |
Cr. hr. |
Pre-requisites |
ARAB135 |
Arabic language skills I |
3 |
|
ARAB136 |
Arabic language skills II |
3 |
ARAB135 |
6 Cr. Hr. from the following: |
|
|
|
CULS331 |
Modern and contemporary European thought |
3 |
Second year level |
CULS332 |
Modern and contemporary Arab thought |
3 |
Completion of 30 credit hrs |
CULS333 |
Palestine: the identity and the cause |
3 |
|
ENGC1400 |
Intensive intermediate English 1 |
4 |
ENGC1000 |
ENGC2400 |
Intensive intermediate English 2 |
4 |
ENGC1400 |
Total |
20 |
|
- Faculty of science requirements (18 credit hours)
Course code |
Course name |
Cr. hr. |
Pre-requisites |
General biology |
3 |
|
|
General chemistry I |
4 |
|
|
General Biology Laboratory |
1 |
|
|
Calculus for Health Sciences |
4 |
|
|
General physics for Health and Life Sciences |
4 |
|
|
General Physics Laboratory |
2 |
|
|
Total |
18 |
|
-
Program requirements (84 credit hours)
- Core courses: 75 credit hours
Category |
Course code |
Course title |
Cr. hr. |
Prerequisite |
# of hours/week |
|
Theor. |
Prac. |
|||||
Mathematics |
STAT2381 |
Biostatistics |
3 |
|
3 |
0 |
Chemistry |
CHEM111 |
General chemistry lab I |
1 |
CHEM141 or concurrent |
0 |
3 |
CHEM112 |
General chemistry lab II |
1 |
CHEM111, CHEM132 or concurrent |
0 |
3 |
|
CHEM132 |
General chemistry II |
3 |
CHEM141 |
3 |
0 |
|
CHEM221 |
Organic chemistry lab |
2 |
(CHEM230 or concurrent) and CHEM112 |
1 |
3 |
|
CHEM230 |
Basics of organic chemistry |
3 |
CHEM132 |
3 |
0 |
|
Biology and Biochemistry |
BIOL2220 |
Invertebrate Zoology |
2 |
BIOL111 |
2 |
0 |
BIOL2230 |
Vertebrate Zoology |
2 |
BIOL2220 |
2 |
0 |
|
BIOL 2110 |
Zoology Laboratory |
1 |
Concurrent with BIOL 2220 |
0 |
2 |
|
BIOL 2340 |
Cell Biology |
3 |
BIOL 111 |
3 |
0 |
|
BIOL 2140 |
Cell Biology Laboratory |
1 |
Concurrent with BIOL 2340 |
0 |
3 |
|
BIOL 241 |
Botany |
4 |
BIOL 111 |
3 |
3 |
|
BIOL 243 |
General Microbiology |
4 |
BIOL 111 |
3 |
3 |
|
BIOL331 |
Genetics |
3 |
BIOL 2340 |
3 |
0 |
|
BIOL 311 |
Genetics Laboratory |
1 |
Concurrent with BIOL 3310 |
0 |
3 |
|
BIOL333 |
Molecular Biology |
3 |
BIOL 3310 |
3 |
0 |
|
BIOL 313 |
Molecular Biology Laboratory |
1 |
Concurrent with BIOL 3330 |
0 |
3 |
|
BIOL 3241 |
Research Methods |
2 |
Third year level |
2 |
0 |
|
Biochemistry 1 |
3 |
BIOL 131, CHEM 230 (or concurrent) |
3 |
0 |
||
Biochemistry Laboratory 1 |
1 |
Concurrent with BIOC 331 |
0 |
3 |
||
Animal Physiology |
3 |
BIOL2230, BIOC331 |
3 |
0 |
||
Plant Physiology |
3 |
BIOL2410, BIOC331 |
3 |
0 |
||
Immunology |
3 |
BIOL243, BIOC331 |
3 |
0 |
||
Seminar in Biology and Biotechnology |
3 |
4th year level and BIOL3241 |
3 |
0 |
||
Biotechnology Courses |
Biotechnology 1 |
3 |
BIOL111, BIOL 131 |
3 |
0 |
|
Bioinformatics 1 |
3 |
COMP 132 |
2 |
3 |
||
Bioinformatics 2 |
3 |
BIOT3330, COMP 2333 |
2 |
3 |
||
BIOT4331 |
Biotechnology 2 |
3 |
BIOT3310 |
2 |
3 |
|
Biophysics |
3 |
PHYS1431 |
3 |
0 |
||
Computer Science |
COMP132 |
Introduction to computer and programming |
3 |
|
3 |
0 |
COMP 2333 |
Programming for Biology |
|
COMP132 |
3 |
0 |
- Elective courses: 9 credit hours of which at least 6 to be chosen from Biotechnology Electives (see table below). The remaining 3 credits can be chosen from Biology or Biochemistry courses level 3000 or above
Course code |
Course title |
Cr. Hr. |
Prerequisite |
# of hours/week |
|
Theor. |
Prac. |
||||
Embryology |
3 |
BIOL2230 |
3 |
0 |
|
Analytical chemistry 1 |
3 |
CHEM112 and CHEM132 |
2 |
4 |
|
Bionanotechnology |
3 |
BIOT3310 or concurrent |
3 |
0 |
|
Introduction to Proteomics |
3 |
BIOC3310 |
3 |
0 |
|
Plant Biotechnology |
3 |
BIOC3310 |
2 |
3 |
|
Introduction to Genomics |
3 |
BIOC3310 |
3 |
0 |
|
Microbial Biotechnology |
3 |
BIOL131 |
3 |
0 |
|
BIOT4380 |
Special Topics in Biotechnology |
3 |
Department approval |
3 |
0 |
GENS3300 |
Ethics in Natural and Nanosciences |
3 |
|
3 |
0 |
The student should successfully pass 122 credit hours for the Bachelor Biology and Biotechnology with a cumulative average of 70% or higher.